/slash ½ 2015 – Day 1: Amor Eterno (Eternal Love)

Posted on May 4, 2015 by cornholio1980

Amor EternoAmor Eterno
Spain 2014
Written by Marçal Forés & Vicente de la Torre
Directed by Marçal Forés
Watched on 29.04.2015

When it comes to the /slash Filmfestival, I tend to not inform myself about the movies too much in advance, since I usually watch everything anyway. Thus, the only criteria is the showing time (sometimes, I might already have other plans; or the movie starts a little bit too late for my liking). Otherwise, I don’t really care that much. Which also means that as long as I haven’t heard of a film before (like “Lost River” and “The Guest”, for example) I usually go into the movies completely blind. I don’t watch any trailers, and I usually also don’t read the short synopses in the festival program. The major advantage of this is that I mostly go into those movies totally unprepared, and without any expectations. However, it also means that I occasionally run into a movie that’s not really my type, and that I might not have watched if I would have informed myself about it in advance.

Case in point: “Amor Eterno” by Marçal Forés (not to be confused with the movie “Endless Love” that also came out in 2014). There’s very little that I can concretely criticize. For example, the movie failed to make the teachers change of heart plausible to me. First, he shuns the student he slept with, saying that it was just for one night. And then, suddenly, he gets all jealous and obsessive like a love-stricken teen. I don’t know, I just didn’t get where that came from. Also, as soon as they showed the picture of the dead body that was found in the woods I had a strong guess as to where this was going – and in the end, I was proven right. I also found the movie to be quite confusing, especially in the beginning. I didn’t really know if it’s supposed to take place in the real world, or in some sort of fantasy land. The showdown didn’t really manage to grip me (which is true for the entire movie, unfortunately). And I thought that the musical numbers were quite weird and distracting. None of those are real deal breakers, though, and there were also a couple of things that I enjoyed. The sex scenes were very well shot, especially the first one in the car, which was shot without a (noticeable) cut. “Amor Eterno” also showed gay sex in a way that I haven’t quite seen it portrayed before, which was definitely interesting for me. The acting was great, too, especially by the two leads. And the movie is definitely very unique, and something that I haven’t seen before. Ultimately, though, it boils down to “Just not my kind of movie”. I simply couldn’t relate to any of the characters, and didn’t find my way into the movie. It just didn’t connect with me. Which obviously says nothing about how you will react to it, though, so if you find the synopsis promising, I suggest you simply give it a try.
4/10


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At the Movies 2015: Avengers – Age of Ultron

Posted on April 29, 2015 by cornholio1980

Avengers - Age of UltronAvengers: Age of Ultron
USA 2015
Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by Joss Whedon
Watched on 27.04.2015

It’s true: “Avengers: Age of Ultron” isn’t quite as fresh, funny, and delightful as the first one. It misses the appeal of seeing all these superheroes fighting together for the first time. Ultron, while a competent baddie, isn’t quite as charming a villain as Loki. After two features that at least partly broke with the regular superhero movie formula (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”), this again is far more familiar – and ordinary – territory. And the nth destruction of a city during the showdown does start to feel a little old. However, all of that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still highly entertaining.

If there’s one more problem that I haven’t discussed above, it’s that the first action sequence is also by far the best one. Everything that comes afterwards may have higher stakes and more destruction and spectacle, but there’s an energy, a self-assuredness and a playfulness to the first action scene that really made it stand out, and that unfortunately the movie in my opinion never quite reached again. It was very thrilling and exciting, and also extremely well shot, with many seemingly single-take shots like the one during the fight against the alien army in the first “Avengers”-movie, where the camera went from one Avenger to another. The later action scenes are nice, too, and what Joss Whedon does really well is including these short moments – be it a gag or a short character scene – that really stand out and that break down the massive action scenes into smaller parts that are more easily digestible. And those small moments really work well. It doesn’t completely prevent the bigger, later action scenes to feel a little bit like a jumbled mess, though. Thus, the more stripped down first action scene was by far my favorite of the movie. Other than that, it was mostly the more quiet, personal moments that worked really well for me. I especially liked the revelation of Hawkeye’s secret life, as well as the scenes between Romanoff and Banner/the Hulk. The interactions between the Avengers were great, too. It’s obvious that they grew into a real team by now, and it shows especially during the party scene at the beginning.

I also like that this time, the threat doesn’t come from outside, but is actually self-made, if you will. Tony Stark still hasn’t quite overcome the events of the first movie, and when Scarlet Witch catches him, she further enhances his fears. And ultimately, it’s exactly this fear that causes everything that happens afterwards. I also loved the humor that was present throughout the film. I’m pretty sure that the further Avengers-adventures are in good hands with the Russo brothers, but I’m not so sure if we’ll get quite the same – and as much – humor from them, which is something that elevated the predecessor, and is also present again here. I’m not necessarily what you’d call a Whedonite, but I love the quirkiness that he brings into the mix, and “Age of Ultron” definitely benefits from that. As you’d expect from such a movie, the special effects are flawless. Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman also did a good job scoring the movie. I was especially glad to hear that (contrary to Hans Zimmers work for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”) they used Alan Silvestri’s Avengers-theme again – even through there would still be a little room for improvement when it comes to the individual themes. I also liked the new characters. Ultron might be no Loki, but his biting sense of humor at least partly makes up for that. The twins are a great addition to the Marvel Universe; I especially loved Scarlet Witch, her powers, and how they were shown in the movie. And I loved that even at the end, you didn’t really quite know what to make of the Vision. Finally, there were a couple of touching scenes in between all the spectacle that really hit home with me. Overall, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is a fun, nice superhero movie that might not quite reach the same heights as its predecessor, but that’s nevertheless a really good, entertaining film in its own right.
8/10


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At the Movies 2015: Ex Machina

Posted on April 28, 2015 by cornholio1980

Ex MachinaEx Machina
UK 2015
Written by Alex Garland
Directed by Alex Garland
Watched on 24.04.2015

After writing the scripts for – among others – “28 Days Later”, “Sunshine”, “Dredd” and “Never Let Me Go”, Alex Garland finally decided to make the jump to the director’s chair, filming his own, original screenplay. And given the end result, I sincerely hope that he’ll return as both script writer and director frequently, providing us with many more fascinating, original, intelligent and thoughtful science fiction-films like “Ex Machina”.

Watching the movie, you’d never guess that it was shot by a first-timer. Not only is it perfectly paced, and looks absolutely stunning, but the whole movie shows a self-assuredness that’s impressive. Alex Garland also does an incredible job when is comes to slowly drawing the viewer in. Like Caleb, we’re thrown into this weird story, not really knowing what to make of it at first. Who is telling the truth, and who is lying – and about what, and why? What are they hiding? Who can we trust? There are a couple of divergent, hidden agendas going on simultaneously that we’re only gradually becoming aware of, and lots of secrets and twists that are revealed bit by bit over the course of the movie. Thus, “Ex Machina” keeps you guessing pretty much from the beginning about what exactly is going on here, and where it will all ultimately lead. And while there may have been one or two plot twists that I did see coming, there’s also lots of stuff that catched me totally unaware. I also loved all the conversations, be it between Nathan and Caleb, or Caleb and Ava. The former are great because they raise some interesting questions about artificial intelligence, and deal with it in an almost academic way. The latter are the heart and soul of the movie, showing us the increasingly intimate connection that develops between the programmer and his test subject. That, ultimately, is one of “Ex Machinas” major strengths: It’s brainy and thought-provoking AND moving and emotive at the same time, thus offering food for the brain as well as the heart.

Where “Transcendence” (dealing with a slightly similar topic in a vastly inferior way) relied on an A-list cast to tell its story, Alex Garland – rightfully – has enough trust in his movie and its story to refrain from stunt-casting, filling it with up-and-coming actors instead. We’ll see both Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson in “Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens” later this year. Both are actors that could be seen regularly over the last couple of years, giving one good performance after another, but who haven’t quite reached stardom yet. Here, they continue their streak of great lead performances on the more indie-side of movie-things, perfectly capturing their multi-faceted roles – and their individual character development over the course of the movie. By far the standout of the movie, however, is Alicia Vikander, giving a breakout-, star-making performance as KI/robot Ava that somehow feels natural and calculated at the same time. Like her costars, she has already been cast in plenty of other upcoming movies, so it seems like we’ll definitely see more of her in the future – and I couldn’t be more pleased about that. Kudos also has to go to cinematographer Rob Hardy, who perfectly captures the beauty of the landscapes as well as the claustrophobic feel of the underground lab, art directors Katrina Mackay & Denis Schnegg for their impressive set design, as well as Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury who provide the movie’s atmospheric, haunting synth-score. Add to that the perfect, reverberating ending that stayed with me long after the credits rolled, and you got yourself a small modern science fiction masterpiece.
9/10

PS: Check out my buddy Maynard’s review here!


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At the Movies 2015: The Voices

Posted on April 27, 2015 by cornholio1980

The VoicesThe Voices
USA | Germany 2014
Written by Michael R. Perry
Directed by Marjane Satrapi
Watched on 11.04.2015

I was looking forward to this for quite a while now (the first positive reviews came in already more than a year ago from the Sundance Film Festival), and I’m glad to say that “The Voices” didn’t disappoint. I love dark comedies – growing up in Austria, where “dark” is the predominant humor that can be found in movies, that shouldn’t really come as a surprise – thus this tale about a serial-killer-in-the-making who hears his cat and dog talk to him, pushing him to one dark deed after another, was right up my alley.

What I wasn’t quite prepared for was how frequently disturbing and occasionally even flat-out sad the movie was. Take the first murder for example. While a couple of folks at the movie cinema laughed out loud, I actually found the scene to be immensely tragic. In a weird way, I felt pity not just for the victim, but also for Jerry. As for the disturbing stuff… the first time that we see how his apartment really looks was one of the major standout-scenes of the movie for me. Just wow. And the flashback to his mother was really haunting too. Sometimes – like with Rob Zombies “Halloween”-remake – trying to explain evil can backfire. Here, however, it was essential, since Jerry is not supposed to be this inhuman evil force, but an extremely troubled human being that we should be able to sympathize with, despite his actions. Nevertheless, there’s obviously also a lot of humor to be found in here, mostly thanks to Bosco and Mr. Whiskers, perfectly capturing the completely differing personalities usually associated with Cats and Dogs. Bosco is the extremely loyal buddy who tries to steer Jerry away from his dark aspirations, believing that despite of what he’s done, he’s still a good person overall. Mr. Whiskers, on the other hand, is a self-centered asshole who tries to persuade Jerry to his way of thinking: Follow your impulses, do what you want – and only what you want – and never apologize for what you are. Now obviously, them talking is just a figment of Jerry’s imagination, giving voice to the two opposing forces struggling inside him (a point that’s emphasized by the fact that both of them are voiced by Reynolds himself). The resulting conversations were absolutely hilarious (I’ll probably hear my cats saying “Where’s my food, fuckface” whenever they’re whining for food for the rest of my life now).

While I always liked Ryan Reynolds, I don’t think that I’ve ever thought of him as a really good actor before. Here, however, he’s indisputably great as Jerry, giving a subdued, varied and convincing performance, perfectly bringing this flawed and troubled human being to life. I especially liked him in Jerry’s scenes at work, where he puts on a nice-guy-persona, always smiling and being nice, but it’s obvious that it’s just a sham. The steel behind his eyes and the falseness of his smile were constantly apparent. The rest of the cast was equally great. I’m hopelessly in love with Gemma Arterton anyway (who, I can’t stress this point enough, would have been the perfect Wonder Woman), and Anna Kendrick once again is cute as a button. They both portray their respective roles flawlessly and with a lot of verve and charm. Praise also has to go out to Ella Smith. It’s so nice (and, unfortunately, rare) to have a full-bodied woman in a movie who comes off as a regular, full-fledged character, and isn’t used for one fattie joke after another. Jacki Weaver – as Jerry’s therapist – rounds out the top-class cast. Pretty much the only thing that I didn’t care for was the musical number at the end. The movie ended on such a nice, perfect, tragic note – and as funny as the song was in itself, its cheerfulness didn’t really fit the prevalent mood of what came directly before it. Either way, I would have preferred it if “The Voices” would have allowed me to leave the cinema in a more somber, thoughtful mood, instead of cheering me out. Apart from that, “The Voices” is a brilliant dark comedy that was equally funny and disturbing.
8/10

PS: Check out my buddy Maynard’s review here!


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At the Movies 2015: Furious 7

Posted on April 21, 2015 by cornholio1980

Furious 7Furious 7
USA 2015
Written by Chris Morgan
Directed by James Wan
Watched on 08.04.2015

The “Fast & Furious”-series definitely is a phenomenon. The first one was a nice “Point Break”-like undercover/action movie that definitely hit a nerve. The sequel was disappointing, and I still haven’t watched “Tokio Drift” yet. But instead of slowly letting the franchise drift away (sorry about that pun), they decided to give it one last try. They reunited Paul Walker and Vin Diesel (advertised with that great tagline “New model. Original parts.”) and strayed further and further away from the franchise’s “illegal street racing”-roots to more Bond-like spy movies. And suddenly, they kept getting better and better. On the one hand, parts 4-6 were great fallbacks to the hilariously over-the-top-action movies of the 80s, but on the other hand, there was a heart and a soul to them; thus there were more than just superficial, shallow, fluff action-entertainment. A progression that very much continues with “Furious 7”.

I’ll admit that I was a little sceptical. Given the circumstances of Paul Walkers death, I feared that “Furious 7” could feel like a cynical cash-grab. I was also worried that losing Walker during half of the shoot may prove too big of a problem in order to finish the movie in a convincing way. And the loss of Justin Lin, who had been the caretaker of the franchise for such a long time, further added to my anxiety. And at least when it comes to that last part, my worries seem to have been partly justified. James Wan does an ok-job as new director of the franchise, but it’s clear that action isn’t really his forte (at least not yet). There may be the occasional slow motion-effect to celebrate a certain moment, and he also makes some nice use of the “Wan-cam”, but otherwise, the action is directed and edited a little sloppily, with far too many cuts and too close zooms to really be able to follow the action. It’s not as bad as “Taken 3”, not by a long shot, but it’s also not as clear and comprehensible as I’d like. Thus, apart from a couple of really cool “Hell yeah!” moments (like the shot from the trailer with Brian running along the transport that’s about to fall from a cliff, jumping off just in time to catch the rear spoiler of Letty’s car), the action was inferior to parts 4-6. The showdown in particular was a little disappointing. That whole drone stuff didn’t really grip me, and I would have preferred more emphasis on the emotionally charged final fight between Dom and Shaw. Overall, no comparison to that great showdown from “Fast 6” (which also did a better job giving every one from the team his or her moment to shine). I also felt that Ronda Rousey (one of the best things about last years “Expendables 3”) was shamefully wasted. And I could have done without Letty’s sudden, unexplained recovery.

However, the cast and the emotional tone of the movie more than made up for that. It was great to see Paul Walker and Vin Diesel together for “one last ride”. Dwayne Johnson also proves again to be a real asset of the franchise. I’ll never grow tired of Michelle Rodriguez’s bad-ass-chick shtick. And Jason Statham gives the franchise the best villain that it arguably had so far (he really should play more bad guys in the future). Also, the action, even though shot a little more sloppily that I would have liked, is still quite imaginative and gloriously over-the-top. The movie also moves along at a brisk pace, finding a nice balance between the action and the “family”-stuff. It’s entertaining from start to finish, and a worthy swan song for Paul Walker. As for the scenes that were finished with his brothers: It’s noticeable here and there, but it didn’t really bother me. The biggest strength of the movie, however, were the last five minutes, which offered a very moving tribute for the late Paul Walker, a satisfying conclusion to Brian’s story, as well as an absolutely perfect last shot. They simply couldn’t have ended this in a more appropriate, satisfying and graceful way. A huge part of me hopes that they’d lay this franchise to rest now, since this was such a perfect ending; however, given its box office-draw, Dom’s return is probably inevitable. Let’s all hope that it will be at least as entertaining and this one, and won’t turn out to be the cynical cash-grab that I – wrongfully – feared “Furious 7” to be.
8/10


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At the Movies 2015: Kingsman – The Secret Service

Posted on April 10, 2015 by cornholio1980

KingsmanKingsman: The Secret Service
UK 2014
Written by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Watched on 19.03.2015

Since the excellent “Stardust” – still one of the very best fantasy films coming out in this millennium that doesn’t have “Lord of the Rings” in the title – I’m a huge fan of director Matthew Vaughn. His brilliant “Kick-Ass” (which I still consider the best movie that came out in 2010) only reinforced my admiration for him. “X-Men: First Class”, while a huge step up for the franchise after the “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”-debacle, actually was a slight step down for him as director, in my opinion (however, I mostly lay the blame on the studio for that). Since then, though, I strongly believe that Matthew Vaughn does his best work outside of the studio system – which is why I was very happy to hear that he dropped out of “Days of Future Past” (I just wish he would have done so before Jeff Wadlow was hired for “Kick-Ass 2”; mind you, I’m not of the opinion that it sucked balls, it was a decent enough sequel, but since the budget was tightened even further after the first one, it really could have used Matthew Vaughn’s ability to make much out of little, thus making a movie look far more expensive than it actually was). Add to that the fact that “Kingsman” reunited him with “Kick-Ass” mastermind Mark Millar, and you’ve got one of my most-anticipated movies of 2015.

The only two things that had me slightly worried were that the trailer didn’t really blow me away, and that I wasn’t sure if Taron Egerton had the necessary acting chops and the charisma for the role. Turns out, I needn’t have worried. While I think that both “Stardust” and “Kick-Ass” were slightly better, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is another winner on Matthew Vaughn’s spotless track record. It took about 10 seconds, and the movie had already won me over. Vaughn has a knack for interesting music choices (as proven in “Kick-Ass”), and this sequence is no exception. “Money for Nothing” as accompaniment for a full-blown action/war-scene? Sure, why not? Another great example is the scene with the exploding heads, which again featured an absolutely perfect combination of music and images – not to mention this certain level of insanity that I’ve come to know and love of Vaughn (and which was sadly absent from “X-Men: First Class”). It might have been a little too strange for some, but in my opinion, it was a clever solution to make a scene light and fun that otherwise would have been extremely horrifying and unpleasant. Absolutely genius. I also loved the parody-elements of “Kingsman”, which takes the already over the top Bond-formula and further heightens it, with hilarious results (for example, take the Swedish princess as R-rated version of your typical Bond-girl; and, of course, main villain Valentine and his plan for world domination). Like “Austin Powers”, though, it’s all good-natured and comes from a position of love and admiration for the source material.

Another one of Matthew Vaughn’s strengths is his knack for action scenes. In contrast to so many modern director-hacks who completely chop up the action and make it completely incomprehensible, Vaughn celebrates the action, offering long takes (sometimes ridiculously so) and throwing in the occasional slow motion, but still making them incredibly dynamic and exciting. The church-fight is a particular standout, and may very well end up as my favorite action scene of the year. It’s not just the direction though, the cast is great too. Colin Firth starts off playing his typical Gentleman-self, before bursting out into a complete – and convincing – action star. My hesitation concerning Taron Egerton also proved to be unfounded; he’s perfect for the role, convincingly portraying Eggsy’s transformation from a street-smart loser to a charming, self-assured, bond-like special agent/superhero. It’s a breakout-performance, similar to Aaron-Taylor Johnson’s Kick-Ass. The rest of the cast is also great. Mark Strong finally gets to play a good guy, Samuel L. Jackson shines as over-the-top villain Valentine (even though his lisp is a little distracting at the beginning), Sofia Boutella kicks some serious ass as his henchwoman Gazelle, Michael Caine is perfect as the old, wise leader of the Kingsmen, and Sophie Cookson proves herself to be a young talent worth watching out for. Finally, it was nice to see Mark Hamill again, who seemed to increasingly fade away in the last couple of years (his voice-acting notwithstanding).

A couple of minor drawbacks prevent this from quite reaching the same heights as “Stardust” and “Kick-Ass”, though. I felt that the middle part of the movie, with the drill, dragged along a bit. The movie as a whole is quite predictable, especially when it comes to [SPOILER] Galahad’s death, which followed the typical rule for mentor-roles in movies (meaning that they die 2/3rds in; see: Obi-Wan in “Star Wars”, Gandalf in “The Fellowship of the Ring” – or Big Daddy in “Kick-Ass”), and was also pretty much mandatory plot-wise (since Roxy became the new Lancelot, Eggsy had to become the new Galahad) [/SPOILER], thus not quite reaching the shock-value with me for which they were probably aiming for. And the score by Henry Jackman & Matthew Margeson wasn’t quite on par with their work for “Kick-Ass” (1 and 2). Nevertheless, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” was another great entry in Matthew Vaughn’s filmography, and even though I still hold out hope for a third and final “Kick-Ass” movie (instead of a Hit-Girl prequel, which doesn’t sound very promising to me), I wouldn’t mind another “Kingsman”-adventure further down the road.
9/10


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At the Movies 2015: Das ewige Leben (The Eternal Life)

Posted on April 9, 2015 by cornholio1980

Das ewige LebenDas ewige Leben (The Eternal Life)
AUT 2014
Written by Josef Hader, Wolfgang Murnberger & Wolf Haas
Directed by Wolfgang Murnberger
Watched on 13.03.2015

The “Brenner”-films are some of the best movies that Austria has produced within the last decades, and “Das ewige Leben” not only further establishes this rule, but might actually be the best of them (yet). My only two words of warning are: It’s extremly “Austrian”, thus I’m not sure how well it will translate to an international audience. And don’t expect a typical whodunit; at least when it comes to the story in the present, there’s never any question about who did what. However, that’s not really what “Das ewige Leben” is about anyway.

One of the things that I found most interesting about “Das ewige Leben” is the disparity concerning the level of information between the protagonists and the viewer. While the former know everything that has happened in the past – which is a mystery to us, the viewers, that is revealed only gradually over the course of the movie in dialogue and flashbacks – the viewers on the other hand have an advantage over them when it comes to what happens in the present, since unlike them, we see everything that transpires. A disparity that I found quite clever, fascinating and interesting. I also loved how everything that happens in the present is due to misconceptions, and/or the shadows of the past. The cast is absolutely great. Josef Hader was born to play Simon Brenner, and I simply can’t think of any actor, national or international, who could do a better job with this role. In “Das ewige Leben”, he also finally gets a great adversary, thanks to Tobias Moretti. Both are famous and highly regarded Austrian actors that so far – at least, as far as I could determine – never shared the silver sceen before; which makes “Das ewige Leben” some weird kind of Austrian “Heat”. The rest of the cast, which features Nora von Waldstätten, Roland Düringer, Christopher Schärf and Margarete Tiesel, is equally great. Apart from one weird-looking extra during the birthday party, who completely ruined the scene, there’s not a single weak link to be found here.*

“Das ewige Leben” might very well be the darkest and most depressing film of the “Brenner”-series, perfectly capturing the melancholy that besets the tortured Austrian soul. Which is not to say that there’s not also a lot of humor to be found. However – as most Austrian films, actually – said scenes are solemly laugh-out-loud-funny, but more of a black, macabre kind. So if you’re into this kind of stuff, you should have a great time with it. The showdown also is completely and utterly “Austrian”. Yes, there’s a car chase all the way through Graz, but since one of the vehicles is a small moped, it’s almost the antithesis to your typical Hollywood chase sequence, since it moves along at a leisurly pace. Same is true about the subsequent pursuit on foot. I also loved the quite lethargic way this confrontation ultimately ends. There’s just something extremely “Austrian” about the way it all transpires. The final icing on the cake is the way the flashbacks are shot. Typically, they are presented in washed-out colors or even black and white, to enforce that these things happened in the past. “Das ewige Leben” takes the completely other route, though, presenting them in radiant colors that visualize the nostalgic yearning for the “goold old times”. Overall, “Das ewige Leben” is a cleverly written, exquisitely shot and extremely entertaining movie with great characters, terrific performances, and many memorable scenes. And in case I made you curious now: There’s no need to watch the other Brenner movies before watching this, it’s completely self-sustained. So – given that you get the chance and/or can find the movie with subtitles – just go ahead and enjoy…
9/10

* = Just kidding, guys. Said extra is my good and dear friend Maynard!

PS: In case you want to read my (more elaborate) german review, here’s the link: -> fictionBOX


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At the Movies 2015: The Loft

Posted on April 8, 2015 by cornholio1980

The LoftThe Loft
USA 2014
Written by Bart De Pauw & Wesley Strick
Directed by Erik Van Looy
Watched on 11.03.2015

Despite an intriguing concept and an all-star cast (albeit rather B- than A-list), “The Loft” completely bombed at the US box office. And while it’s far from a great movie, it’s a decent enough thriller, and definitely undeserving of the cold shoulder that it was given by the majority of the movie-going audience.

Granted: “The Loft” has a hard time living up to that great, promising premise: Five married guys who share an apartment for their extramarital affairs one day find a dead girl lying in the bed. Only the five of them have a key. Is there a murderer in their midst? It’s a fascinating idea, and even though some might have a hard time sympathizing with them given the fact that they’re adulterers, I managed to look past that (not least because I prefer flawed protagonists to infallible ones) and just go with it. And no matter if you’re able to relate to their actions and problems per se, “The Loft” raises some interesting questions about friendship; how much it can take, how good we can ever really know another person (no matter how close we think we are), and how far you’d be willing to go in order to help a friend – or destroy an enemy. Granted, the longer the movie the more far-fetched the revelations; the one coming after about 2/3rds of the movie is especially hard to swallow. And I’m pretty sure that when looking back with the knowledge that we have at the end, a scene at the beginning doesn’t really make a lot of sense (however, I’d have to watch the movie again to be absolutely sure). But overall, I had a good enough time with it to not care too much about that. “The Loft” moves along at a brisk pace, offering up new twists and turns every couple of minutes, as well as great performances from its five main actors as well as the supporting (mostly female) cast.

Its one major flaw is the beginning, which yet again shows us a scene from far down the road. It’s a stylistic device that I get more and more weary of with every use, and here, it seemed especially unnecessary, if not downright stupid. Now, even though it gets widely overused nowadays, I kinda get the idea behind it: You want to grab the audience right away, before you start with the introduction of the characters etc. As much as I might not like it personally, I can see its sense and purpose, especially on TV, where you risk the modern, ADD-suffering audience switching the channel as soon as there’s nothing exciting going on for two minutes. Something that’s already not an issue in the cinema, but ok. However, in “The Loft”, they already had a very effective hook with the dead girl in the bed. Thus, the scene before that was completely unnecessary. Even worse, though, is that because of the shot of the glove and the fact that only one of the guys that find themselves on the balcony at the end is wearing some, you already know how this confrontation is going to end, which completely drains it of any tension. Thus, in this case, starting off with that shot was a completely amateurish move that hurts the movie considerably. Which – especially considering how easily it could have been avoided – really is a damn shame.
5/10


IMDB

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At the Movies 2015: Selma

Posted on April 7, 2015 by cornholio1980

SelmaSelma
USA 2014
Written by Paul Webb
Directed by Ava DuVernay
Watched on 20.02.2015

When watching a movie like “Selma”, I’m always torn between horror at the discrimination and atrocities that took place in the not-too-recent-past, and enthusiasm about how far “we” have come in such a short time. Don’t get me wrong: Not even remotely I want to suggest that today, everything’s sunshine and roses. There’s still far too much discrimination and hatred going on. But when you watch a movie like “Selma”, it’s – thankfully – obvious that things have changed for the better since then. And while I do think that overall, this change is also reflected in the attitude of society in general (for example, coming out as homosexual was a far bigger deal 10-20 years ago than it is today), it must also very much be attributed to those who fought and continue to fight relentlessly against prejudice and discrimination.

“Selma” focuses on the fight of Martin Luther King and the brave men and women at his side for equal voting rights for Afro-Americans. As an Austrian, understandably the lessons of recent history that I got in school focused on Austria, Germany, the European Union etc., and while we did learn about the most important historical events in the U.S. (the Cuba Crisis, the Vietnam War, etc.), I don’t know as much about the civil rights movement than I probably should – and that I’d like to. Since I never enjoyed reading historical texts, movies like “Selma” are ideal for me – even though they don’t present flat-out historical facts, but rather an interpretation of events (a drawback that I’m very well aware of). For me, its biggest strength was the acting. David Oyelowo was great as Martin Luther King, especially during the speeches (all of whom, as I’ve since learned, written especially for the movie, since they didn’t have the right to use his real ones) and the more emotional scenes (like when he offers his condolences to the old man who lost his son during the riots). I was also quite impressed by Carmen Ejogo, which gives an equally great performance as King’s wife. The rest of the cast was great, too. I had never seen Oprah Winfrey in an acting role before, but she stood her ground as Annie Lee Cooper. Still, I have to say that I found the appearance of well-known faces (like Cuba Gooding Jr.) in smaller roles slightly distracting, since they belied the sensation that I’m watching history unfold in front of my eyes. Ava DuVernay’s direction was decent, if nothing special, and there were a couple of really hard-hitting scenes. The first approach to cross the bridge was especially haunting, but I also loved their later (successful) march, accompanied by Fink’s goosebump-inducing “Yesterday Was Hard on All of Us”. Overall, I found “Selma” to be very interesting, enlightening, occasionally moving, and – even today – very important and relevant, putting a spotlight on those who fought for equal voting rights for Afro-Americans – and the price that had to be paid in order to achieve that goal.
7/10


IMDB

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At the Movies 2015: The Imitation Game

Posted on April 4, 2015 by cornholio1980

The Imitation GameThe Imitation Game
UK | USA 2014
Written by Graham Moore, based on a book by Andrew Hodges
Directed by Morten Tyldum
Watched on 19.02.2015

“The Imitation Game” is an interesting mixture of biopic, drama, thriller, and (historic) war movie. By far my favorite part was the third act, after Alan Turing finally broke the Enigma code, and the question arises how – or even if – they’re supposed to react on the information that the machine gives them. Which attacks to prevent and which to allow. It’s a fascinating moral dilemma, and I wouldn’t have minded if the movie would have elaborated even further on that. However, I also loved the parts that focused on Turing’s homosexuality, especially the epilogue with Joan Clarke’s visit. Apart from that insulting “Today, we call them computers”-line, I also really loved the ending, and was quite moved by it.

Benedict Cumberbatch is exceptional in the role. Then again, there’s probably no other modern actor who can play intelligence, arrogance and social ineptitude quite as well and as convincing as him. And while I have to admit that I had some problems initially to blank out his Sherlock interpretation (especially at the beginning; his job interview felt especially sherlocky to me), as the movie went along he focused more and more on Turing’s softer and vulnerable side (one that we hardly got to see from Sherlock, at least so far), and by the end, all thoughts of Sherlock were pushed from my mind. It’s a stellar performance that overshadows everyone and everything else – with the possible exception of Keira Knightley, who continues her recent streak of strong performances in supporting roles. Morten Tyldum’s direction is solid (if nothing special), and Alexandre Desplat’s score quite effective. Nevertheless, “The Imitation Game” didn’t quite reach the same heights for me as that other big biopic of this years oscar race, “The Theory of Everything”. I felt that the first two thirds dragged along just a little bit. There were a couple of supposedly tense scenes that didn’t quite work to me, since everyone who’s even slighty familiar with the subject matter knows that Turing and his group were ultimately successful – thus the threats of turning off his machine didn’t really do much for me. Still, if you’re interested in Alan Turing, computers, cryptography and/or history, this is definitely a game worth playing.
7/10


IMDB

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